The More Rewarding Woodpile

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

After both legs are cut, choose a half round slab for the seat (if you're building a bench) or top (if it's to be a table). Since it's unlikely that both legs came out exactly the same thickness, use the top edge of each leg as a pattern for its particular notch in the underside of the top (Fig. 1-G). With the notches marked, lay the half-round slab on a flat surface, and brace it as you did when you were cutting the legs.

When sawing the leg notches into the top, first make a "down" cut (Fig. 1-H) just inside each of the scribed lines, to a depth of no more than half the thickness of the slab. Next, make a series of parallel cuts, as close together as possible, between the two original, outside slots. Repeat exactly for the second notch. Now use a hammer or the back of a hatchet to knock the thin "wafers" of wood out of the notches, as in Fig. 1-I. To smooth out the ridges that will be left in the bottoms of the notches, "plane" your saw carefully from side to side along the bottoms of each notch, taking care to keep both of the notches the same depth (Fig. 1-J).

Before driving the legs into their slots, place them in position and eyeball the fit. If either leg is too wide for its notch, work it down a bit with a heavy wood rasp. To seat the legs, first place a piece of scrap wood across the bottom of each to act as a buffer, then use a hammer or some such to do the poundingin chores (Fig. 1-K). If a leg fits too loosely, you can always drive some thin wooden wedges between it and the sides of the notch to shim it up tight. If you wish, you can further secure the legs to the top with dowels (which is the most aesthetic method), wood glue, or even nails or screws.

With the bench (or table) completed, plane the top smooth with your saw, then use a rasp to complete the rough-finishing chores. But be careful not to overdo it; log furniture is supposed to look rugged. You may wish to sand the top surface a bit-then wipe the entire project clean and apply a finish that's appropriate for the use the piece will receive. For indoor furniture, natural wood that is lightly oiled is hard to beat.

And you're done.

With a bit of practice, a competent sawyer can knock this project out in just a few minutes. If this first item turns out to your liking, take a glance at Fig. 2, which shows several embellishments that can easily be added to what you've already got in order to make (A) a workbench with backrest, (B) a simple end table with a magazine shelf beneath, and (C) an end table with lamp shelf.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print